From New York to Miami
by thealycat
Summary: -X-OVER, CSI: Miami-, Mac and his team find a series of strange murders in New York. When they find out who the killer is, they are led to Miami. Mac and Stella work with the Miami CSIs to help find him before he kills again. -Implied HoSt-
1. The First Victim

**Hey everyone, it is Aly again. This actually is my first CSI story. I will try my best to relate to the TV show, in terms of how the characters act and stuff like that. So it is a CSI: NY and a CSI: Miami crossover, so it will start here, and then go to the CSI: Miami section of . After watching Manhattan Manhunt, I ****realised that Horatio and Stella would make a cute pairing, and so that is what it is. A slight HoratioStella (or my word HoSt, taken from the idea of ShiningZephyr's word SHort)****, a slight CaRWash, and a slight DL. I hope you enjoy it. **

**Disclaimer: I own NOTHING familiar. All of it belongs to CBS. Any relation to a real life character or situation is a coincidence, because I made up the plot.**

**Now presenting, From New York to Miami.**

* * *

Aimee Calmado ushered the remaining guests out of her Upper East Side apartment.

"Great party, Aims!" one of her friends called out. They shut the door behind them.

Aimee let out a sigh of relief and looked at the mess left in her apartment. She ran her fingers through her dark brown hair and sat down. She was too tired to clean this up today.

Her phone vibrated in her pocket. She took it out and read the text message her friend sent her. She laughed and started to type a reply. She didn't notice her doorknob rattling or the squeak of the door opening. The stranger crept up close to her.

There was a creak on the wooden floor behind her. Aimee turned around.

"Who ARE you?" she cried in fear. The stranger held out a gun and shot her. She barely had time to scream; she was dead before she hit the floor.

* * *

"Hey Aims, I think I left my camera here last night, did you see it?" Brenda Calmado, Aimee's sister, called from outside the apartment door. She noticed that the door was left open.

She looked at the door. "Hm," she said aloud to herself. "Aimee never leaves her door open."

Brenda opened the door and walked hesitantly to the living room.

"Aims?" she called shakily. She saw the body laying on the couch, dead. Her mouth opened in a scream.

* * *

**The first victim! I hope you like it! R&R please! My favourite saying: "You don't like, don't read." **


	2. Finding the First Victim

**Here's the next chapter! But readers please keep in mind that I am not a real CSI, so if it lacks scientific information, or some of it is wrong, please bear with me. Also, I know more about Miami than New York, so if their personalities are slightly OOC, also, please bear with me. **

**Disclaimer: I own NOTHING familiar. All of it belongs to CBS. Any relation to a real life character or situation is a coincidence, because I made up the plot.**

* * *

Detective Mac Taylor knelt down to closer examine the body on the couch.

"Have we got an ID yet, Stella?" he asked.

"Yeah," Detective Stella Bonasera said, holding up a driver's license. "Her name is Aimee Calmado, and she's 30."

"She has a single gunshot to the middle of her head," Detective Dr. Sheldon Hawkes said. "It shut down the central nervous system immediately. She died before she hit the couch. I'll let Sid tell you about the rest of the stab wounds. Because, those wounds look ante mortem, but I definitely think they were post."

"All right," Mac said. On the floor near the couch, he could see Danny dusting something off for prints. "What do you got, Danny?"

"Obviously, this was used to stab her," Detective Danny Messer said. "But there are no prints on it."

"He probably wiped it down," Hawkes said.

"Or was wearing gloves," Stella mused.

"Which leads us nowhere because it's winter, everyone's wearing gloves," Mac said.

"That might need us nowhere, but this might," Danny said, picking up something with his tweezers. It was a dark brown hair. He put it in a small plastic bag marked 'Evidence'.

"That looks like the vic's hair," Hawkes said, pulling a hair out of the victim's head. "I'll take one as a reference sample."

Stella stared at something by Danny's foot. "Danny, move your foot for a second." He did. There was something copper there.

"A casing," Danny said.

"Yeah, looks like a .38 to me," Stella said. She gave it to Mac to examine.

Mac took a closer look at it. "It is a .38, probably a Smith & Wesson revolver."

Danny walked around the living room, looking at all of the garbage on the floor. "Jesus, there's a lot of crap in here. What was going on in here?" He held up a lipstick-stained, squashed plastic cup.

"Well Brenda, the vic's sister and the person that called it in, said she had a party. Let's bag it, just in case," Stella said.

Mac nodded. "You guys do that. In the meantime, I'm going to have a talk with Brenda Calmado."

* * *

"Aimee was a good girl, even though she liked to throw parties," Brenda sobbed. "I don't know who would want to kill her."

"That's what we're trying to find out, Miss Calmado, so please bear with us. Now, were you at the party?" Mac asked.

"Yeah," Brenda sniffled. She grabbed a tissue out of the box in the middle of the table. "But I decided to go home early."

"And why is that?" Mac inquired.

Brenda shrugged. "Turns out it was for all of her friends at work. I knew no one at that party except for my sister. Aimee asked me to take some pictures of her, since I am a photographer. So I took pictures of her and her friends and left. But I left my camera in her room."

Mac, who was previously sitting, stood up. He noticed her hair, which was the same shade of brown as the one Danny found in the apartment. "I'm going to need a strand of your hair, your prints, and that camera."

* * *

**Second chapter over! R&R please! My favourite saying: "If you don't like it, don't read it."**


	3. Sid's Autopsy Results

**Here's the next chapter! Hope you all like it. I have to admit, it's not my best… sorry. **

**Disclaimer: I own NOTHING familiar. All of it belongs to CBS. Any relation to a real life character or situation is a coincidence, because I made up the plot.**

* * *

"Mac!" Stella called to him. He was walking down the hall, but when he heard Stella's call, he entered the room she was in.

"Yeah," he said.

"I took a look at the pictures from the sister's camera three times, very thoroughly. Nothing out of the ordinary," Stella said.

Mac sighed. "So there's nothing?"

"Well, we still have the hair that Danny found at the scene and all of those cups, plates, and broken beer bottles. But so far, they haven't got anything yet. We could have compared the hair, but we're waiting for another reference sample other than Brenda or Aimee Calmado's," said Stella.

Mac's ring tone filled the air with a musical melody. "Taylor," he answered. "Yeah. All right, we'll head down there now." He ended the call.

"Who was that?" asked Stella.

"That was Sid. He finished the autopsy. Hopefully, we get a lead from it," Mac said, and he and Stella took the elevator down to the morgue.

* * *

"Well, your COD was definitely the gunshot wound," Medical Examiner Dr. Sid Hammerback said. "Liver temp is about 82 degrees. She died around midnight."

"What about those stab wounds?" asked Stella.

"Definitely post mortem. They were probably done out of rage, because they are in any random spot that the killer could get to. There's one in her neck, her ankle, her arm, her leg…" Sid went on until Mac interrupted him.

"We get the idea. Is there anything else, like some sort of signature?" Mac asked. Sid nodded.

"Actually, look at her left ankle," Sid said. Both detectives did so. There was an 'L' carved into it.

"You see how the wound looks? The blade that did it had to have been serrated for at least six inches," Sid said.

"So I guess that's his signature, because I've investigated a lot of murders, and none of the vics had this carved on their ankle. And, the blade that we found at the apartment did look like it was serrated for six inches," Stella said.

"Well, there was another body I had that looked like this," Sid said.

Mac raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Ok, you know how I'm saving up for that new car? So two nights before you found this girl, I decided to work the night shift. The night shift CSIs brought in a guy, 30 years old, single gunshot to the head--" Sid began.

"--with multiple post mortem stab wounds and an 'L' carved on his ankle," Mac finished for him. Sid nodded. "What's his name, Sid?"

"His name was… Jack Williamson. You know, I'm no CSI, but to me it looks like you're looking at a serial killer," Sid said.

"You know what, Sid?" Mac said. "I'm thinking the exact same thing."

* * *

**I know a lot about CSI stuff now. It's like forensics class at home XD. R&R please! My favourite saying, "You don't like it, don't read it."**


	4. A Witness to the Killer

**First, I would like to say 'thanks' to ImaSupernaturalCSI for pointing out a little character flaw that I had. Just letting you all know, it has been fixed. So onto the next chapter. It's my first interviewing bit. If the questions aren't good… let's just say, I suck at asking people questions. Interviews and stuff like that… I'm really bad at it.**

**Disclaimer: I own NOTHING familiar. All of it belongs to CBS. Any relation to a real life character or situation is a coincidence, because I made up the plot.**

**Just wanted to tell you another thing. My cousin has been nagging me to tell. A random fact about this story: It was started on a cell phone. I was at a restaurant and was bored waiting for my food. So I went on text messages and started to type it up. Then I saved it to drafts. I have ten chapters stored up on my phone. Yeah… weird I know. XD**

**On to the Chapter! Oh, and the stuff in italics is the flashbacks, like the ones suspects and witnesses have on the shows. **

* * *

"Don," Mac said to the other detective as they spotted each other in the hall. Detective Don Flack walked over to Mac.

"You got anything on the case I asked you about?" Mac continued.

"Yeah. Night shift CSIs found him in his hotel, no witnesses. He was taking a vacation up here from Miami. Cleaning lady called it in," Flack said.

"Is there a reason to kill a tourist and a party girl? There's no apparent connection between the two victims, at least no connection that we know of," Mac said.

"Well, your killer could be the average crazy guy. Narrows it down to… almost everyone in New York," Flack stated. Mac chuckled.

"But you know what? I think the housekeeper knew more than she told us. I think we should bring her in for questioning," Flack went on.

Mac nodded. "Let's do that."

* * *

"Lauren O'Connell," Flack said. The woman sitting in the chair across from his leaned forward.

"I already told you people everything I knew before," Lauren said through clenched teeth. She was absentmindedly playing with the bracelet on her wrist.

Mac, who was sitting next to where Flack was standing, noticed that the bracelet looked like something she couldn't afford on her salary.

"You're withholding information from us, Lauren!" Flack said.

"No I'm not! For the third frigging time, I already told you guys _everything_," Lauren yelled.

"I don't think so, Lauren," Mac interjected. "That's a nice bracelet, is it real? Where'd you get it? You and I both know that it looks like something you can't afford." Lauren suddenly squirmed uncomfortably in her chair and bit her lip.

Flack smirked. "You were saying?"

Lauren sighed. "I saw him come out of the room."

_Lauren O'Connell was about to knock on the door to Suite 3563, when she saw a man come out of the room. He put a gun in his pocket. _

"After he put the gun in his pocket, he looks up at me, standing there, frozen in fear,"

_The man looked up and saw Lauren standing there. He thought about hurting her, but decided not to. She wasn't on his 'list'. Lauren was frozen from the fear of possibly getting shot. There were tiny beads of sweat rolling down her face and her eyes darted nervously back and forth. _

"He gives me this bracelet and 100 bucks and tells me to keep my mouth shut or he would kill me. I agreed and took the goods,"

_The man goes closer to Lauren. "Listen here lady," he says. "Take these and shut your mouth. Don't tell the feds or I'll come back and kill you. I know where you work, remember?" _

_Lauren nods her head vehemently, takes the stuff, and says, "I promise I won't tell! I swear it!" _

_The man smiles a wicked smile. "Good, we're all clear." The elevator bell rings. He then proceeds to run to the open doors._

"Did you get a look at his face?" asked Flack.

Lauren tried to remember. "I forgot his eye color, but his hair was light brown," she said.

""Was he wearing gloves when he have it to you?" Mac asked.

Lauren shook her head. Mac noticed that two strands of hair fell to the floor. They were the same color as the ones found in Aimee Calmado's apartment. "Uh, when he got out of the hotel room, he threw the gloves in the garbage. Claimed that they were 'too screwed up to use anymore'. Probably because they were covered in blood."

"So he gave you that bracelet with his bare hands? And you were the only one to wear it since that day?" asked Flack.

Lauren nodded. "Yes, that's correct."

"Okay, Lauren, before you go, I need your prints and if you don't mind, I'd like to take your bracelet," Mac said. Lauren shrugged.

"Sure, whatever," she said. Mac put his gloves on, took the bracelet from her, and put it in an evidence bag. Then he took her prints.

After the process was over, Lauren stood up to leave. Right before she touched the doorknob, she turned around.

"Oh, he said something else before he went in the elevator," Lauren said. Flack raised an eyebrow.

"What would that be?" he questioned.

_The man stuck his foot between the elevator doors to prevent it from closing. He gave a sly snicker and turned his head toward the housekeeping lady. 'I know you'll tell after a week, that's how you stupid girls are.'_

"'But by then, I'll be long gone, I'll be down south,'" Lauren finished and left, leaving a confused look on Mac and Flack's faces.

* * *

**So, we've got a clue on how the murderer looks. I made it vague, because I want to (try) and keep people guessing. He said down south. A lot of you should be able to guess the hint. R&R! If I have any character flaws, tell me please!**

**My favourite saying, "You don't like it, don't read it."**


	5. The Killer's New Location

**Another post… I don't have anything much to say in my pre-chapter author's notes (which I love oh-so much). -sigh-**

**Never mind! I got something! Thanks to ALL of my reviewers! And I forgot. Remember in the last chapter Mac saw hairs fall to the ground. I forgot to mention… he picked those up. **

**Disclaimer: I own NOTHING familiar. All of it belongs to CBS. Any relation to a real life character or situation is a coincidence, because I made up the plot. **

**Just another thing… this chapter isn't my best either. Truly, madly, deeply (haha a song) sorry. **

* * *

"Hey Hawkes," Stella said as she walked into the room. Detective Dr. Sheldon Hawkes said hi back.

"So I ran the hairs from the apartment, the sister, and the housekeeper," Hawkes said.

"Did you get a match?" inquired Stella. There was a whir as the papers came out of the printer.

When Hawkes gave her the papers, she smiled and looked at it. "We've got a match.

* * *

Stella gave the woman sitting across from her a copy of the results that Hawkes gave her. "Brenda, your hair is a match to the one we found at the crime scene."

"We've been doing some digging and it seems that Aimee was the star child and you were the one trailing behind her. An anonymous source told us that Aimee referred to you as her 'lackey'," Flack told her.

Brenda bit her lip. "Well, yeah, Aimee called me her lackey. I was always following her. She would always ask me to do stuff for her. Like a slave. I thought doing this would make me 'in a higher position on the social food chain', to put it in her words," she said. "But I wouldn't kill her. With that position came money. I got a bigger apartment, better gadgets, and she was going to get me the iPhone. I wouldn't want to kill her. Besides, she wouldn't even leave me anything in her will besides her crappy, used hand-me-downs."

"Then how did your hair end up by the body?" Flack asked. Brenda scratched her head. Stella noticed that a couple of white flakes and hairs drifted down to the floor.

"Brenda," Stella began. "Do you by any chance have dandruff or are you losing your hair?"

Brenda's eyes, which were previously staring at her flats, flickered up to meet Stella's gaze. "Yeah, I am. I-I'm taking radiation therapy for my leukemia and my dandruff has always been this bad since I was twenty. Scratching my head is a nervous habit. When I panic or whenever I'm nervous, I itch."

Stella smiled briefly at the girl. "All right, Brenda, you can go now. This officer will lead you out." Stella nodded to the officer standing by the door. The officer led Brenda out.

When Flack and Stella were the only two left in the interrogation room, Flack told her, "I'm a little bit lost."

"Well," Stella explained. "She said she did have a nervous habit of scratching her head. This is what I think happened."

_Brenda screamed. Aimee's bloody body scared the living daylight out of her. _

"She was probably panicking. You heard her, Flack. When she panics, she scratches and her hair comes out,"

"_Oh my God," Brenda gasped. She scratched her head out of panic. She then grabbed the phone and called 911. Her hair fell on the floor by the body. _

"Oh, I see. So it was just dandruff and early hair loss," Flack said.

Stella nodded. "Just dandruff and early hair loss."

"So we're basically out of suspects?" Flack asked.

Stella exhaled. "We're basically out of suspects."

* * *

"Hey Montana," Danny said to Detective Lindsay Monroe. She smiled.

"So I checked the bracelet that Mac got from the housekeeper for prints. I found two sets. The first was obviously the bracelet owner's. The second is our killer's," Lindsay said.

"So who is he?" Danny asked. Lindsay pointed to the computer screen. It was still running the print through AFIS.

"Still looking. No match yet," Lindsay said. Danny and Lindsay waited there for another hour before AFIS finally came up with a match.

"We've got something," Danny said. His eyes darted to the computer screen as he read the information about their killer. Lindsay took out her cell phone and dialled a number.

"Hey Mac, I got a match," she said.

* * *

"Seth Bryson, 30, previously arrested for illegal gun possession. Place of residence 12067 Orchard Place, Miami," Mac read off the computer screen.

"He's not a New Yorker?" Lindsay sounded surprised. Mac nodded.

"It says that he was arrested on vacation to New York. Guess his vacation was a trip to get free nine mils," Mac said. He took out his cell phone and pressed a button on his speed-dial.

"Stella, check with LaGuardia and JFK, see if a Seth Bryson recently flew out of New York," Mac said.

"_You got it_," said Stella's voice on the other line.

"A Seth Bryson took the eight o'clock flight yesterday on Delta Airlines to Miami," Stella informed him. "So what does this mean, Mac?"

Mac looked at her. "We're going to Miami."

* * *

**They're going to Miami! Woo-hoo! Hehe. R&R please? Check for OOC-ness please? **

**My favourite saying, "You don't like, you don't read." **


	6. Victim in Miami

**Disclaimer: I own NOTHING familiar. All of it belongs to CBS. Any relation to a real life character or situation is a coincidence, because I made up the plot****.**** But I wish I did. I REALLY wish I owned New York and Miami. –grins insanely-**

**Random question: DID ANYONE (if you watch Miami) SEE 'ALL IN' ?! I am totally in love with that episode. My favourite parts were the poker table part with Ryan, Eric, and Frank, and the part where Eric tells Calleigh that he loves her without actually telling her. –squeals insanely- **

* * *

Victoria Chavez pushed the 'lock' button on her car keys. Her Mercedes beeped twice in response. She has just come back from lunch with her boyfriend in Coral Gables. As she reached her front door, she fumbled in her purse for her house keys.

Little did the woman know that there was someone coming up behind her. His footsteps were silent and he didn't make a sound. Right before Victoria put the key in the door's lock, she heard a twig break.

She turned around. The face that she saw staring at her looked very familiar. "Seth Bryson?!" He pulled out a gun and shot her. There was no time to scream, because she was dead before she hit the floor.

* * *

Josh Harding, Victoria's boyfriend, stepped onto the walkway leading to her house. He had plans to invite her to a party later on that night. Then, he stepped on a red and slightly sticky liquid.

"Damn it!" he swore. "These shoes cost 900 bucks!" He looked down to see what he had stepped in. What he saw was not what he expected. Lying on the floor, dead with a pool of blood around her, was Victoria Chavez.

"Oh my God!" Josh screamed. He ran backwards and tripped. The body was the only thing his eyes were focused on. "Oh my GOD!"

* * *

**Well, there's another victim. Yeah, the minds of these serial killers. What twisted people they have become. Well, hope you enjoyed it, and REVIEW please! I'm beginning to like that purple button. –grins- **

**I like to say, "If you don't like it, don't read it." **


	7. New York meets Miami

**And now for the appearance of our ****favourite**** South Florida CSI team! With the shades. You can never, ever forget Horatio's shades. XD**

**Disclaimer: I own NOTHING familiar. All of it belongs to CBS. Any relation to a real life character or situation is a coincidence, because I made up the plot. But I wish I did. I REALLY wish I owned New York and Miami. –grins insanely-**

* * *

Lt. Horatio Caine looked at the body Medical Examiner Dr. Alexx Woods was examining.

"Does she have a name, Alexx?" he asked.

"I found her driver's license in her purse. Cash and credit cards are still there. Name's Victoria Chavez, 30," Alexx replied.

"COD?" Horatio asked again.

"Single bullet wound to the middle of her head, between the eyes. Shut down the central nervous system immediately. Poor baby was dead before she hit the floor," Alexx said.

Horatio noticed the stab wounds that the girl had all over her body. They didn't seem to be in any specific place.

"Alexx, are those stab wounds ante or post mortem and were they a part of her COD?" Horatio inquired. Alexx examined all of the stab wounds that Victoria had.

"I can't really tell here if they were ante or post. Neither can I tell if they were a part of her COD. I'll page you with the results," Alexx said. She looked closer at the wounds. "These wounds did manage to avoid every major artery."

"So they didn't kill her. Here's what I think," Horatio said. "The killer shot her and then, for good measure, stabbed her multiple times."

Alexx stroked the hair of her corpse in a motherly way, the way she did with most of her corpses. "Who would do such a thing to you, sugar?" she asked.

"That, that is what we find out," Horatio said. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see a blonde woman examining something bronze. "Calleigh." he said and went over to her.

"It's a .38," CSI Calleigh Duquesne said. She held it up closer. "All these grooves and twists. It's definitely a Smith & Wesson revolver."

"Okay, run it through IBIS, see if the same gun has been used before," Horatio said.

"Will do," Calleigh replied.

"H! I found something," CSI Eric Delko said. Horatio walked over to him. He was taking pictures of a bloody knife.

"Well, this was obviously the knife used to stab our vic," Horatio said. Eric chuckled at this comment. "Check it for prints please, Eric."

"You got it," Eric said.

"I don't think you'd need to do that," a voice behind them said. Both men turned around to see who had spoken. Standing there were Detectives Mac Taylor and Stella Bonasera. The Miami CSIs greeted their New York counterparts.

"So what do you mean by 'not necessary'?" Eric asked. Just as that question was asked, Calleigh saw Mac and Stella standing there and went over to see what was happening.

"We already know who committed the murders," Mac said. "Both New York victims had the same look. Single gunshot between the eyes, multiple stab wounds in random areas."

"That's exactly how our vic looked," Calleigh said in her Southern drawl. She looked to where Alexx and her MEs were putting the body in a body bag.

"So as soon as we find out who the guy was, we find out that he flew to Miami the night before," Stella explained.

"So this guy's a serial killer?" Eric asked.

"Most likely," Stella said. "Take a look at this." She took out two pieces of paper and handed them to Horatio.

"Seth Bryson, 30, previously arrested for illegal gun possession," Horatio read and looked at Seth's mug shot and priors.

"Yeah. The thing also says that he lives here in Miami," Mac said.

"He was coming home," Stella said.

"Yes, he was," Horatio said, putting on his shades. "to find new victims."

* * *

**New York and Miami meet! Lol, hope you liked it! R&R and check for OOC-ness please!**

"**You don't like, you don't read,"- Alysandra Martin **


	8. Where the Killer Got the Guns

**There is a, well I don't know if you'd call it a moment, little tiny CaRWash bit in this one. I also must say, this one (well at least the part in the morgue) was another one of my not-so-great chapters, but I hope you all like it.**

**NOTICE: I sort of forgot the name of the firing range Ryan used to work at, so I'm making up a name. **

**Disclaimer: I own NOTHING familiar. All of it belongs to CBS. Any relation to a real life character or situation is a coincidence, because I made up the plot. But I wish I did. I REALLY wish I owned New York and Miami. –grins insanely-**

* * *

"Alexx, what do you have?" Horatio asked as he walked into the morgue.

"COD was definitely the gunshot wound. You were right, these stab wounds were post mortem. Only tiny capillaries were broken as a result of the stabbing," she said.

"Was there any Trace or any hair on the body?" Horatio inquired. Alexx nodded.

"There was some Trace on it-- you don't need to ask, I already sent it up-- and there was also a hair on the body. I sent that to DNA as well," Alexx said.

"Thank you Alexx," he said and walked out of the morgue.

* * *

Calleigh's eyes were focused on the multitude of bullets on the computer screen appearing and disappearing as the bullet was being run through IBIS.

"Hey Cal," CSI Ryan Wolfe said as he walked into the ballistics lab.

She turned to face her colleague. "Hey," she said back.

"So how's the IBIS search going?" he asked, pulling up a chair beside her.

"Not so great," Calleigh said. "I've been here an hour and I don't have any results."

"Well, you do have a lot of bullets to scan through, IBIS is nationwide," he reminded her.

"That's true," Calleigh said. She sighed. "I just hope we get this Bryson guy before he gets someone else."

Ryan sat up straighter and looked at her. "Wait a minute, did you just say Bryson? Would his first name, by any chance, be Seth?"

Calleigh looked at him with a 'how-did-you-know-that?' look. "Yeah, it is. Do you know him from somewhere?"

"You can stop your IBIS search," Ryan said. "I know where he got that gun."

"Ryan," Calleigh sighed exasperatedly. "Will you just tell me how you know this guy?"

"Seth Bryson works at the firing range I used to work at, Coral Gables Shooting Range," Ryan said. "There are plenty of guns there, it's very likely that he stole one from there."

Calleigh stopped IBIS. "Well then, we're taking a trip down memory lane, come on." She got up out of her chair and walked out of the ballistics lab. Ryan groaned, but followed suit.

* * *

Calleigh and Ryan got out of the Hummer and walked toward the front desk. A balding, elderly man in his sixties was located there, filling out some papers.

Calleigh turned to Ryan and asked him, "Is that the owner?"

Ryan nodded. "Yeah, that's Mr Jenkins. He isn't down much, though, so I wonder what he's here for."

They continued walking to the front desk. When they reached there, Ryan called, "Mr Jenkins?"

The man's eyes flickered in Ryan's direction. The warm, chocolate brown eyes lit up when they realized who was addressing him. "Oh Ryan, how ya doing, son?" He grabbed Ryan's hand and shook it.

"Mr Jenkins, this is Calleigh Duquesne, she works with me in the Crime Lab," Ryan introduced Calleigh and she shook Mr Jenkins's hand.

The old man gave Ryan a fatherly smile. He was like Alexx, he had that warm air around him that only a parent could have. He treated his workers and co-workers like his own children. "So you found yourself someone special, eh son? A young fella like you shouldn't stay single." There was a pink blush on each CSI's faces, but that soon disappeared.

"No, Calleigh and I are just friends. We're actually here to ask you some questions about Seth Bryson, one of your employees," Ryan said.

"Ah, Seth. Always thought that boy wasn't right in the head," Mr Jenkins said.

"How so?" inquired Calleigh.

"Well, he was…what's that word you young people use? He was a… loner, that's it," Mr Jenkins said. "He also would always look at the guns like he wanted them. But you know I wouldn't give nobody a gun unless they were licensed."

"When was the last time he showed up for work?" asked Ryan.

"'Bout nine days ago, at least, that's what my employees say. I was on vacation in Cancun then," Mr Jenkins said.

"Just one more question before we leave. Are you missing any guns?" asked Calleigh.

"Well that's the reason I'm down here, miss. One of my employees also reported two missing .38 Smith & Wesson's nine days ago," the elderly man said.

Calleigh and Ryan gave each other a look. All of those victims were killed with .38 Smith & Wessons.

"Thanks, Mr Jenkins, we're done here," Ryan said.

Mr Jenkins waved his hand. "Anytime, son. You two take care now." he said as the CSIs were walking back to the Hummer.

As they were walking, Calleigh had a look in her eyes, the look that she always had when she was putting two pieces together.

"What are you thinking?" Ryan asked. They got in the Hummer.

"Well, Stella said that the first body was found seven days ago. You can't fly with a gun, so two days was just enough time to drive up there. Then, after he killed his next New York victim, he left that gun there somewhere and flew back to Miami. Mr Jenkins said that two guns were missing, so he probably picked up the second one at his house and shot our Miami vic with that one," Calleigh explained.

"But what was the motive? None of us have found out why this guy would kill three random people. There's no connection," Ryan said.

Calleigh thought about that before saying, "I don't know, but we'll find out."

* * *

**R&R please? Hope you liked that one, even though it wasn't my best. Hehe, a little CaRWash awkward-ish moment.**

"**You don't like, you don't read." **


	9. The Connection Between the Victims

**Disclaimer: I own NOTHING familiar. All of it belongs to CBS. Any relation to a real life character or situation is a coincidence, because I made up the plot. But I wish I did. I REALLY wish I owned New York and Miami.**

**I tried something new out today. I posted the disclaimer BEFORE I started rambling. :D Very short… a little bit boring… this chapter is… I no speak Eengrish. XD**

**(another)NOTICE: My characters might be a little OOC… you don't have to tell me anymore if they're OOC. I know. Andrew Fuller (in this chapter) is a name I got from Big Momma's House 2. I don't own the idea of the name. **

* * *

"Hey H!" Eric poked his head out and called to the lieutenant from inside a room. "Check this out."

Horatio followed Eric in. "What do you have?" he asked.

Eric grinned. "I have the connection between our vics. Look at this." He clicked on a picture. An image of what appeared to be a graduating college class appeared on screen.

"Miami-Dade University, Class of 1999," Horatio read the caption underneath.

"Yeah. You see him?" Eric pointed to a person on the picture. "That's out killer, Seth Bryson. These guys over here," he pointed to three other people. "Are the New York vics and Miami vic number one."

"Okay, so they all went to school together," Horatio said.

"Right," Eric said. "I was able to find a classmate. I have his number and his address."

Horatio quirked an eyebrow. "How did you get that?"

Eric chuckled. "Well, it's simple. I go to my next-door neighbor's house, copy down his address, and get his number from the phone book." He pointed to a sandy-brown haired figure in the picture. "That's Andrew Fuller. He told me he went to Miami-Dade U. I figured it all out. If he's thirty, like the vics and Bryson, he would have been part of this class."

"Is he able to come in for questioning?" asked Horatio.

"I tried calling him and asking, but he said he didn't want anything to do with an investigation," Eric said. He scribbled something down on a piece of paper. "This is his address."

Horatio smiled. "Thank you Eric." He put the piece of paper in his pocket and took out his cell phone.

_Beep, beep, beep_. Horatio pressed a couple of buttons.

"_Bonasera,_" answered the voice on the other line.

"It's Horatio, where are you?" Horatio asked.

"_I'm with Mac and Detective Tripp. He's been giving us more information on the Chavez girl. Why?_" Stella said.

"Eric connected the victims together. Turns out they all went to college together, Miami-Dade University, Class of 1999," Horatio said.

"_Even the New York vics?_" Stella asked.

"Yeah. Eric said that one of the students in that graduating class is his next-door neighbor, Andrew Fuller. He tried calling him up, but Andrew told him he wanted nothing to do with an interrogation," Horatio informed her.

"_So we're going to his house to persuade him to come for an interview?_" Stella said. "_I'll tell Mac and Detective Tripp._"

Horatio nodded even though Stella was on the phone, not right in front of him. "Do that."

**

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I'll post another one. So I can get some memory back on my phone XD**

"You don't like, you don't read."


	10. Another Witness

**Disclaimer: I own NOTHING familiar. All of it belongs to CBS. Any relation to a real life character or situation is a coincidence, because I made up the plot. But I wish I did. I REALLY wish I owned New York and Miami.**

**HAHA. The disclaimer's first again. XD I have to say… the interview in this chapter might be a little weird… weird in the sense of not as good as the first one.  
**

* * *

Horatio, Stella, Mac, and Detective Sgt. Frank Tripp arrived at a relatively large house in Coral Gables. The four walked to the front of the house. Mac stared at the doorknob. There was a bobby pin hanging out of it. Frank pounded on the oak door.

"Miami-Dade PD! Open up!" Silence.

"No answer," Frank said. Mac pulled the bobby pin out of the doorknob.

"It's been picked," Mac said. They pulled out their guns because Seth Bryson could be in that house.

"One…two…three!" Horatio yelled. On three, Frank kicked the door open.

"Miami-Dade PD!" Frank yelled again. Again, there was silence. The four searched the house, guns still in hand. A couple of minutes later, Stella found something.

"Mac, Horatio!" she called from where she was in the house. The three men went over to her. What they saw made them put their guns away. Lying on the floor was the body of Andrew Fuller.

"How'd he find out that we were coming to question him?" Frank asked in his Texan drawl.

"I don't think he knew we were looking for him," Mac said. "This guy's a serial killer. Maybe Fuller was next on his list."

"You think Bryson is targeting every one of his college classmates?" Stella asked.

"Andrew!" a woman's voice called out. "I'm home!"

Horatio walked to the front of the house to see who it was.

"An--" the woman began. Then she saw Horatio standing there. "Oh. I was looking for my husband. Are you a friend of his?"

"Mrs Fuller, I'm Lt. Caine. I'm with the Miami-Dade PD," Horatio introduced himself.

The look on Mrs Fuller's face changed to one of worry. "Oh. Is there something wrong Lieutenant?"

Horatio looked at the woman, "I'm sorry, Mrs Fuller, but your husband was found dead today."

Now the expression on the woman's face was one of grief. "But… how?" she whispered.

Mac entered the room. "Horatio." Horatio walked over to Mac.

"Tripp called your ME and your team. They're on their way," he informed him. Mac looked at the grief-stricken woman standing behind Horatio. He was about to walk back to Stella and Frank when something shiny caught his eye. He noticed that Mrs Fuller was wearing the same bracelet that Lauren O'Connell was wearing during her interrogation.

Horatio's eyes followed Mac's gaze, but the Miami CSI couldn't understand why he was staring at the bracelet. "Something going on?" Horatio asked.

"You should bring her in for questioning," Mac said. "Seth Bryson gave her that bracelet."

Horatio raised an eyebrow. "How do you know?"

"Bryson gave witnesses to any of his murders a bracelet, and that looks exactly like the one he gave a witness in New York. Whoever received one was told to keep quiet about the murder," Mac explained.

Horatio nodded. "I'll tell Tripp to bring her in.

* * *

"Mrs Fuller, that's a pretty bracelet," Horatio said. He and Mac were in an interrogation room with Mrs Bethany Fuller. "Where did you get it?"

Mrs Fuller looked at the floor. "My husband bought it for me on my birthday," she said.

"Really? Well, I have a different theory," Mac said. "Seth Bryson, your husband's murderer, gave those bracelets to anyone who witnessed the killing. Anyone who received one was told to keep quiet about it, so why don't you change your story?"

Mrs Fuller bit her lip. "Andrew and I knew Seth from college. Sure, we never talked to him, but we would always remember him as Miami-Dade U's loner. I never pictured him as the type to do this."

"Where were you when you witnessed the murder?" Horatio asked.

"I'm an actress for the community theatre downtown. I had just come home from play practice. The door was left halfway open,"

_Bethany Fuller walked up the stairs to her home. She notices the oak door is halfway open._

"I know Andrew very well, he would never leave the door open that wide. He would never leave it open at all. I hear the TV running, so I figure that Andrew must be in the living room, watching football. I walk into the living room and see Seth repeatedly stabbing Andrew,"

_She walks into the living room. "Oh, it's another score for the Giants!" the television says in the background. Mrs Fuller sees Seth Bryson kneeling on the floor stabbing her husband. She gasps in shock and fright._

"Then he saw me standing there like a deer caught in headlights. He pulled this bracelet out of his pocket and told me not to say a word or he'd kill me. He knew where I lived. Then, Seth took out a hundred bucks and told me to hang out at the mall for two hours so I wouldn't be home when the cops came,"

_Seth Bryson walked over to Mrs Fuller, frozen in fear. He pulls out an expensive diamond bracelet. "Here you go, Beth. You better not say a word about this. I know where you live, remember? I'll kill you, so you better not speak."_

_Mrs Fuller gulped and nodded. Seth reached for his pocket again and pulls out a hundred-dollar bill. "Go hang out at the mall or something. You better not be here when the cops come." _

"Of course I obliged. I didn't want to get killed. Not like the way Andrew…" the woman trailed off and stared out the window.

"Okay, Mrs Fuller, we're going to need you to tell us if you recognize these people," Mac said. He pushed the autopsy pictures of the New York victims and the Miami vic to Mrs Fuller.

She studied the people in the pictures. "Yeah. I know every single one of them. They were part of a group Andrew was in. The 'big group on campus' you could call it," she said.

"You weren't a part of this group?" Horatio asked.

Mrs Fuller shook her head. "No, Andrew and I weren't friends at the time. The only time he talked to me was during graduation. We started dating after graduation."

"Do you remember what that group did?" Mac asked.

"Of course," the widow said. "Like I said, they were the big group on campus. You could also call them 'Miami-Dade U's bullies'. They usually targeted loners or nerds. They called them then 'loony' or 'geek'."

"Did they have a specific target?" inquired Horatio.

"Yeah, they always liked to go after Seth Bryson," Mrs Fuller said. Mac and Horatio gave each other a look. Mrs Fuller put two and two together. "Oh no. Is that why Seth killed Andrew?"

"It's a possibility," Mac said. Mrs Fuller looked at the floor, grief written all over her face.

"We're going to need the names of the remaining members of the group," Horatio told her.

"Uh, I think there were the Bourgeois twins, Bridgette and Henri, and there was also Lucas Raimone," Mrs Fuller said.

"Thank you ma'am, you can go now. The officer will lead you out," Horatio said. A female officer told Mrs Fuller to follow her.

Mrs Fuller stood up and left. When she lifted her foot to take a step, Mac saw the underside of her shoe for only a second. He could have sworn that he saw blood on the bottom of it.

**

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Woohoo, ten chapters! So yeah, R&R please and have a nice day!**

"**You don't like, you don't read." **


	11. Another Possible Killer

**Disclaimer: I own NOTHING familiar. All of it belongs to CBS. Any relation to a real life character or situation is a coincidence, because I made up the plot. But I wish I did. I REALLY wish I owned New York and Miami.**

**Y'know****, I might always put the disclaimer first. It's just a habit, I guess. Oh yeahh. I know Natalia's only a trainee, but I wanted to introduce both her and Valera, so I had Natalia work the case too. Also, is peri mortem a word? Because I've head it in CSI before…**

**WARNING: There might be a little OOC-ness in here. I need to put this at the beginning of every chapter too. **

* * *

CSI trainee Natalia Boa Vista and Calleigh ducked under the yellow crime scene tape and walked to Alexx.

"Let me guess," Natalia, who wasn't at the last crime scene, said. "Same MO as our other vic."

"You got that right, honey," Alexx said. "Same gunshot wound between the eyes, multiple stab wounds."

"All right," Calleigh said. "Page me after post."

Alexx nodded. "You got it," she said. She then called other MEs to put the body in a dark body bag. After the body was in the bag, she and her MEs got in the truck and drove back to the morgue.

Calleigh turned to Natalia. "Okay, Horatio said to look for anything that could lead us to the whereabouts of Bryson."

Natalia put her gloves on. "No problem."

* * *

For the next two hours, the women searched through the crime scene like a fine-toothed comb. After they covered the entire scene and gathered all of the evidence, they took it all back to the lab. Natalia found a hair and was awaiting results from DNA.

"Hey Maxine," Natalia said as she walked into the DNA room. "You got the results from the hair I gave you?"

"Not ye—," DNA technician Maxine Valera started to say. She was interrupted by the whir of the printer. Maxine walked over to the printer, grabbed the papers, and cleared her throat.

"Yeah, I got the results right here," Maxine grinned, handing the papers over to Natalia. Natalia chuckled. The look on her face turned to a look of confusion.

"This makes no sense," she murmured.

"What makes no sense?" Maxine asked, also looking at the papers.

"The hair that I found right by the body is an exact match to the reference sample we took from the vic's wife, Bethany Fuller," Natalia explained.

"But didn't you say that she wasn't anywhere near the vic at the time of the murder?" questioned Maxine.

"That's what I thought," Natalia replied. Her phone rang.

"Natalia," she answered. Natalia raised her eyebrows. "Really? I'll be right down. Bye."

Maxine was already starting to work on other samples. "Hey Maxine, could you give these samples to Horatio for me 'cause I got to rush to the morgue," Natalia said.

Maxine shook her head. "Sorry Nat. I'm swamped with DNA work."

Just then, Stella walked by the DNA room. She appeared to be walking in the direction of Horatio's office. If what Alexx said about the MO was true, Natalia really had to rush to the morgue.

"Stella!" she called. Stella turned around and walked to the CSI trainee.

"Are you heading to Horatio's office? Because I really need to rush to the morgue, but I have DNA results to deliver. Alexx found out something important about the vic's MO and COD, so I need to run," Natalia continued.

Stella nodded. "Sure. It's no problem; I was heading over there anyway."

Natalia beamed. "Thanks, Stella!" Both women then went their separate ways.

* * *

"So you're saying COD was not the same as Victoria Chavez?" Calleigh asked. Natalia had just joined them in the morgue.

Alexx shook her head. "No. This guy's COD was massive internal bleeding due to damage of major internal organs."

"But in the other vics, the stab wounds didn't hit any major organs and they were also post mortem," Natalia said.

"These stab wounds were peri mortem, around the time of death. The gunshot between the eyes was the thing that was post mortem, and look at this," Alexx said. She showed them a section of the victim's forearms previously covered by his long sleeved shirt. "Lacerations on his forearms indicate that his hands were tied behind his back and then untied after death."

Natalia thought about the DNA results she got before. "Didn't you say that Bryson gave her the bracelet to keep quiet about the murder?" Natalia suddenly asked.

Calleigh and Alexx looked at her. "Yeah, I did. Have an idea who might have done it?"

Natalia nodded. "I think Bethany Fuller killed him."

"The vic's wife?" Alexx asked, surprised.

"Yeah," Natalia replied. "I have a theory that he gave the bracelet to her, not to keep quiet, but to kill Andrew for him. She would leave different evidence behind and we would get thrown off course."

"That does make sense," Calleigh mused. "I wouldn't want the police after me either, but the thing is, we don't really have enough evidence to prove she did it."

Natalia's honey-brown eyes lit up. "Where's that bloody shoe print you lifted?" she asked.

"It's in the evidence room, why?" Calleigh said.

"I think I have an idea," she replied.

**

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Tried to throw a little twist in. R&R please! Reviews make me happy! Please don't review about the OOC-ness. I warned you. –points to warning- **

"**You don't like, you don't read." **


	12. The Truth behind the Lie

**Disclaimer: I own NOTHING familiar. All of it belongs to CBS. Any relation to a real life character or situation is a coincidence, because I made up the plot. But I wish I did. I REALLY wish I owned New York and Miami.**

**BACK AGAIN! :D Yeah, this is another chapter! I really don't know what to say right now. Oh Nos! Aly is at a loss for words! XD**

**WAIT. I know what I want to say. -whispers- There's an itty-bitty HoSt moment here. -end whispering- Another question. When you see the word 'reassured' in this chapter, is it in the right place? Should it be there or not? When you review, please tell me. And, imagine there were four papers to the DNA results.**

**WARNING: There might be a little OOC-ness in here. I told you I was going to put this in the beginning of every chapter! **

* * *

Meanwhile, Stella read the DNA results as she walked to Horatio's office. She couldn't believe that the hair that was found by the body was Bethany Fuller's. She was so focused on reading the results that she didn't notice that Horatio was going to walk right into her.

_Crash!_ The two CSIs crashed right into each other. The papers flew from Stella's hands onto the floor around them.

"Oh! I'm sorry, Horatio! I didn't realize that I was going to walk into you!" she said.

"It's okay, don't worry about it," Horatio reassured her. They began to pick up the fallen papers. Both Horatio's and Stella's hands absentmindedly went to the same paper. For a split second their hands touched, but as soon as they touched, they pulled their hands back. They both felt a tiny shock go up their arms. Neither one told the other about the shock, but instead resumed picking up the papers.

"What results were you talking about?" asked Horatio. Stella handed him the papers that she was holding.

"Natalia asked me to give these to you," she said. "They're the results from the hair that she found right next to the body."

Horatio's ocean-blue eyes scanned through the results. "Bethany Fuller," he read.

"Yeah, I was surprised too. People can be surprising, so it wouldn't surprise me if she did it. But the thing is, do you have enough evidence to bring her in?" said Stella.

"That is something I'm not sure of. I'm not sure if we do," replied Horatio.

"Maybe we do," a new voice entered the conversation. Natalia walked to the two elder CSIs.

"If I can get blood on her shoes, find blood on them, match that blood to Andrew Fuller's, and match her shoe print to the one that Calleigh lifted, I can prove that Bethany Fuller killed her husband I've already matched one of the prints on her ten card to the ones on the knife," Natalia continued and explained her theory to Horatio and Stella.

"That's possible," mused Stella. "Why don't you bring her in?"

Horatio nodded in agreement. "Let's bring her in."

* * *

"Mrs Fuller, can we see your shoes please?" Horatio asked the widow. Mrs Fuller gave her black pumps a confused look.

"Uh, okay, sure," she said, taking off her shoes and handing them to Natalia. The CSI trainee put them in a yellowish-orange paper bag.

She held up the bag. "I'll be right back with these," she said and left the interrogation room.

Mrs Fuller looked at Natalia's retreating back. "What is she going to do with those?"

"Wait and hour and you'll find out," replied Horatio.

* * *

An hour later, Natalia entered the room with Mrs Fuller's shoes. She gave a nod to Horatio.

"It's a yes," she said. Horatio looked at the widow.

Mrs Fuller gave the lieutenant a confused look. "What did she mean by 'a yes'?"

"It means that you lied to us, Mrs Fuller," Horatio informed her.

"Wha-what? I told you the truth the last time," Mrs Fuller said matter-of-factly. Her grey eyes darted around the interrogation room and she folded her hands.

"You lied to us before and you're lying to us again," Natalia said. She handed Mrs Fuller the DNA results. "We found your hair right next to the body and your prints on the knife that was used to kill him. Your shoe print matches the bloody one that we lifted from the scene, and guess what? Your shoe has blood on the bottom of it."

"And," added Horatio. "Our ME can determine that your husband was not killed by Seth, so why don't you tell us the real story?"

Mrs Fuller gave a sigh. "Okay. I was seeing Seth behind Andrew's back. He--Seth I mean--said he would marry me, that we would live without Andrew in the way. Both of us agreed that Andrew was getting a little overprotective,"

_Seth kisses Bethany lightly on the lips. "Let's run away," he suggests. "I'll marry you, and we'll live together forever, away from Andrew. He's getting way overprotective."_

_Mrs Fuller smiles. "I'd love that," she says._

"He told me that if I truly loved him, I would get Andrew out of the way."

_Seth smiles back. "Only one problem," he says, pulling out a gun. " Andrew's still here. Go shoot him and stab him many times. Just do it. You love me don't you?" He gives her puppy-dog eyes and a smile._

_Mrs Fuller could never resist those eyes. She kisses him quickly and says, "Okay."_

"Well that 'love' just backfired. Where's Bryson now?" asked Horatio. Mrs Fuller shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

"You're already getting flagged down for murder, do you want to add obstruction of justice to the list?" said Natalia impatiently.

Then Mrs Fuller just blurted it out. "He's going to kill Henri Bourgeois!"

Upon hearing those words, Horatio rushed out of the interrogation room and called the rest of his team, Mac, Stella, and SWAT and quickly went to the Hummer. He turned his sirens on, for this was a real emergency. He couldn't let another person get killed by Seth Bryson.

* * *

**Chapter Twelve done! I will have Chapter 13 up as soon as I have fifteen written on my phone. Yes everybody, I'm still using my phone as the rough draft. XD R&R!**

"**You don't like, you don't read."**


	13. So Close, Yet So Far

**Disclaimer: I own NOTHING familiar. All of it belongs to CBS. Any relation to a real life character or situation is a coincidence, because I made up the plot. But I wish I did. I REALLY wish I owned New York and Miami. **

**Okay! So, this chapter is supposed to have a little action, but I'm sorry if it doesn't seem very action-y. I'm just not that good at writing action. Tragedy and angst are more of my thing. :D **

**Another thing, I'm going to be doing spelling and grammar editing on my chapters, so many emails will be saying new chapter 1, etc. Also, I put Yelina in this even though she doesn't pertain to the story. There will be implied HY in this because I like it. :P**

**Warning: May contain a little OOC-ness.**

* * *

You could hear the sirens blasting as everyone rushed to Henri Bourgeois' house. When everybody got there, they put on bullet-proof vests to help protect them from bullets.

SWAT and the CSIs went into position. Horatio caught Stella's eye. They shared a brief look with each other that only had one message: Be Careful.

Horatio counted them down. He held up three fingers, then two, then one, and with one swift kick, the leader of the SWAT team kicked down the front door of the enormous Star Island mansion down.

"Police!" he yelled. Horatio put his hand in the air and gave a signal to split up. Mac and Eric went with him to the backyard. There they found a light brown haired man holding up a .38 Smith & Wesson revolver to a terrified blonde man on the grass. Henri Bourgeois was scampering away on the grass, a scared look on his face.

The three men pointed their guns at him. "Miami-Dade PD, put the weapon down!" Horatio yelled.

Seth turned to meet the three CSIs, a mischievous look in his hazel eyes. They didn't know his gun was already cocked.

_Bang_! He took a shot at Horatio, but ended up hitting the mansion's white wall. The shot that he fired made them all duck. Seth took this opportunity to run to Henri Bourgeois' boat. The keys were already in the engine.

Mac was the first one up, so he fired some shots at Bryson. Those shots were no good, however; Bryson sped away in the marina.

Horatio, who had gotten up a few moments after Mac, pulled out his phone, pressed a button, and said, "Coast Guard, this is Lt. Caine. We have a suspect, light brown hair, hazel eyes, 6'4", fleeing 107 Star Island. He is armed and dangerous, repeat, armed and dangerous!"

Meanwhile, Eric was trying to calm down Henri Bourgeois. "Mr. Bourgeois, I'm Eric Delko, I'm with the police. You're safe now."

Henri was shaking with blue eyes full of fear. "He-Seth-gun…" he tried to say something, but the shock of almost being killed subdued him and made him numb.

Eric told the distraught man to sit there and wait. Someone would take him take him to the hospital soon.

Now that Seth Bryson had escaped, everyone crowded around the front of the Star Island mansion. Horatio, Mac, and Eric explained what had happened to everybody else.

"So he just escaped?" Ryan asked, warm hazel eyes showing frustration.

"Well, you have to admit, using his boat to get away was a smart plan," Stella pointed out.

"Right, but it leaves us with a killer on the loose," said Eric.

"I just hope the Coast Guard finds him soon," sighed Calleigh. Right on cue, Horatio's phone rang.

"Horatio," he answered. "Yeah. Biscayne Bay? Be right there." He shut his phone.

"They found the boat?" inquired Mac.

"They found the boat," affirmed Horatio.

* * *

"Coast Guard found it fifteen minutes ago. Bryson wasn't seen. Just an abandoned boat," Frank informed them. Calleigh, Ryan, and Eric left their kits in the Hummer so that they would be ready to process something if need be. They went to the boat and started processing it.

"What about witnesses? Anyone see him running away? Any cameras of some sort?" inquired Horatio.

Frank shook his head. "I described him to possible witnesses. Nothing."

"Hey H, I got some Trace over here," called Ryan from his position in the boat. Horatio walked over to him where Ryan was lifting some dark brown specks off the boat's white floor. "Looks like dirt."

"Okay, here's what I want you to do. Go back to the mansion and take a sample of the backyard soil. Then take both samples to Trace to compare them," Horatio instructed him.

"You got it," replied Ryan. Half an hour later, Eric, Calleigh, and Ryan went back to the lab. Horatio stayed there, standing on the boat and looking out into the bay. He was thinking about the case and how strange it was.

"Horatio," a slightly accented voice said from behind him. Horatio recognised the voice. He smiled and turned around. Standing there was his sister-in-law, Yelina Salas.

He walked over to her. "Yelina," he greeted.

Yelina smiled back. "Frank told me you would be here. He told me about the case,"

Horatio chuckled. "Yeah. This case is strange."

"He said it was a tough case. It even involved CSIs from New York. Wow," Yelina added, curly brown hair blowing in the slight breeze.

"It is tough," Horatio agreed. "But Mac and Stella have been really helpful. All we have to do is just catch this guy."

Yelina smiled at him, brown eyes warm. "It's nice to see you, Horatio."

The lieutenant smiled back, blue eyes also filled with the same warmth. "You too, Yelina, you too."

* * *

**It is DONE! XD So yeah, review and tell me a little about my problems (if there were any). Reviews make me smile. :D**

"**You don't like, you don't read."**


	14. The Smartass and the Grieving Widow

**Disclaimer: I own NOTHING familiar. All of it belongs to CBS. Any relation to a real life character or situation is a coincidence, because I made up the plot. But I wish I did. I REALLY wish I owned New York and Miami.**

**Sorry for the delays people. I****'****ve been writing many one-shots. I shall advertise them now. **

_**I Never Got to Tell You: -**_**WARNING: Character Death- I never got to tell you a lot of things, Ryan says. I've always wanted to tell you, but I never got the chance. -CaRWash, short one-shot, slight allusions to 'Urban Hellraisers' and 'All In'.-**

_**Why You?: **_**-****Prequel to 'I Never Got to Tell You'; Warning: Character Death- You****'****re one of the most important people in my life. Why you? Ryan says. Why now? -CaRWash, one-shot-**

_**Never Forget You: **_**A one-shot on how the team felt on Alexx****'****s departure and how Alexx felt on leaving the people she came to know as a family. This is a tribute to Alexx. **

**Yes, I am still in denial about Alexx****'****s departure. Also, would you guys think Frank would say smartass? If he wouldn****'****t… tell me. I****'****ll edit it. I don****'****t think I have anything else to say. XD**

**WARNING: May contain a little OOC-ness. **

* * *

"Mr Wolfe, what do you have?" Horatio asked Ryan.

"I took the Trace that I got from the boat floor and compared it to the soil from the backyard," the younger CSI told him.

"What was it a match to?" inquired Horatio.

"Unfortunately, it was a match to the backyarddirt," replied Ryan. He sighed. "Back to square one, H?"

"Not necessarily," the lieutenant said. "We have the answer, we're just not seeing it. Thank you." Ryan walked back into the Trace lab.

Horatio's phone then rang. "Horatio," he answered.

"Hey," said Frank's voice on the other line. "Henri Bourgeois is ready to talk."

"What hospital is he at?" asked Horatio.

"Dade Memorial," replied the detective.

"Okay," Horatio said. "Meet me there,"

* * *

"Henri," said Horatio, fingering his sunglasses. "Can you tell me anything about Seth Bryson?" He and Frank were in Henri Bourgeois's hospital room at Dade Memorial.

The rich man's breathing was slow and steady as he answered Horatio, You could tell that he was still slightly in shock. "Seth," he began. "He was a real weirdo."

"Well, apparently he got the message and tried to shoot you," said Frank.

Henri's face fell, blue eyes suddenly without emotion. "Yeah… that freaked me out. I've never seen a gun that up close and personal before. I have a phobia of guns, so when he pulled that thing out, I tried to get the hell away from him. But I have to say, that evil side of Seth is intriguing. If he'd acted like that during college, we might not have teased him as much."

"Is there anyplace Bryson liked to go? Was it deserted or out of the way?" the lieutenant questioned.

Henri scoffed. "Why would I know? We targeted him, we didn't have play dates."

Horatio sighed, '_Was this case going to go anywhere?__'_he asked himself mentally.

"However," Henri continued. "We did follow him once, you know, stalking to freak him out, and it led to some sort of warehouse or refinery."

"Well?" Frank said. "Aren't you going to tell us the name of that warehouse?"

Henri tried to remember what it was called. "I can't. I don't remember the name of the place, nor do I remember where it was. But I do remember that it smelled like sugar. Really, really sweet."

"Okay," began Horatio. "Here's what I want you to do. I need you to write down Lucas Raimone's and your sister, Bridget Bourgeois's, address."

Henri snorted. "Lieutenant, there hasn't been a Bridgette Bourgeois since two years ago. She's Bridgette _Raimone_ now."

"Well then right their address down, smartass," said Frank, agitated. He was getting annoyed with this guy. Henri grabbed a pen from the table beside him and scribbled it down on an unused napkin he had,

"Here you go," said Henri, handing the napkin to Horatio. The redhead wrinkled his nose a bit and put it in his pocket.

"Thank you," Horatio told Henri. He and Frank then left the hospital room.

"So what do you think Horatio," asked Frank as they were walking to the parking lot. "Do we pay a little visit to the Raimones?"

Horatio put on his shades and got opened the driver's side door to his car, the Hummer. "Not just yet, Frank. Tell Mac that we need to talk to a 'grieving widow' once more."

* * *

Mac and Horatio entered an interrogation room at the Dade County jail. Sitting at the glass table dressed in dull orange jail clothes was Bethany Fuller.

She groaned when they entered the room. "Not you guys again. So you got me for murder and I'm behind bars. Isn't that the end?"

"You see, Mrs Fuller, that's where you're wrong, The end will only come when Bryson ends up behind bars as well," responded Horatio. Mrs Fuller gave an aggravated sigh at this response.

"Okay," she said finally. 'What do you want?"

"Mrs Fuller, apparently Seth Bryson visited you this morning," Mac told her.

"Yeah, so?" she yawned.

" 'So' we wanted to if he told you about his plans for Bridgette and Lucas Raimone," continued Mac.

"And you better tell the truth, the whole thing," added Horatio.

Mrs Fuller sighed again. "He told me that he found out that they were on vacation. He said when they come back, I'll be waiting."

_Seth Bryson sat opposite Bethany Fuller. __"__Listen,__"__ he says. __"__Lukie and Bridge-head are on vacation. But you know me, Beth. When they come back, I__'__ll be waiting.__"_

"Is he going to do the same thing, murder at the household?" inquired Horatio.

She scoffed. "Of course not. He told me about how you guys caught him at Henri Bourgeois's house. He said he wouldn't be making that stupid mistake again, that he'd take them somewhere and do it there."

_"Listen," he says. "I'm not going to be stupid and make the same mistake again. The coppers caught me at Henri's house. I'll take 'em somewhere else and kill 'em there."_

"Did he tell you where he would take them?" asked Mac. The widow shook her head.

"She doesn't have to, Mac," Horatio said, pulling out his phone. "Because I might have the location."

He pressed a couple of buttons. "Eric, find out the arrival date of Bridgette and Lucas Raimone; they're our next victims."

* * *

**Over! Please do not hesitate to tell me any mistakes I've made, such as typos, etc. So, yeah, I really wanted to say something, but I forgot. R&R please! Reviews make me smile a lot. :D**

"**You don't like, you don't read."**


	15. A Location

**So… another chapter before I head out of state for the weekend! **

**Disclaimer: I own NOTHING familiar. All of it belongs to CBS. Any relation to a real life character or situation is a coincidence, because I made up the plot. But I REALLY wish I owned New York and Miami. (;**

**WARNING: May contain a little OOC-ness. **

**I had to say something… dammit I forgot XD**

* * *

It was nine in the morning when Seth Bryson visited Bethany Fuller. It was twelve noon when Horatio called Eric to find out the arrival time and date of Lucas and Bridgette Raimone. Two hours later, Eric was sharing his findings with Horatio in the lab.

"Lucas and Bridgette Raimone arrived at Miami International two hours ago on Continental Airlines. I got the CCTV tapes from airport security. They showed that the Raimones got in a limo by an unidentified chauffer who held up their name on a white board. I also called their house— no answer," explained Eric.

"Okay, did you see his face at all on these tapes?" inquired Horatio.

The younger CSI shook his head. "No. I looked at the video God knows how many times. I never got to see his face, only his back. It's as if he knew that the camera was there and that we'd be watching."

_Ring, ring. _The lieutenant's phone rang. He checked the caller ID before answering. "Frank, is there anyone at the Raimone residence?" Half an hour ago, Horatio asked Frank to stay outside the Raimone house to see if they were there.

"_Nope, no one. I even broke down the door. Still no answer_," replied Frank.

Horatio's expression hardened. "Okay, Frank, thank you." He shut his phone and turned to Eric.

The Cuban-Russian had a puzzled expression on his face. "What's going on, H?"

"He's got them, Eric," answered Horatio. He walked away from Eric and called someone on his cell phone. "Calleigh, I need a list of unprocessed sugar refineries within a ten mile radius of Miami-Dade U."

"_You got it_," said Calleigh on the other line.

"And Calleigh… innocent people's lives are at stake," the lieutenant reminded her.

"_Okay, I'll do it right away_," replied Calleigh in her trademark Southern drawl. He ended the call at that.

* * *

Half an hour later, Calleigh was telling Horatio what she had found.

"So I checked around the area you told me to— the ten-mile radius of Miami-Dade U— and the only sugar refinery within those boundaries is the Sweet Petunia Sugar Refinery," said the blonde. She showed Horatio the computer screen. "Guess who it's owned by?"

Horatio bent over slightly to look at the computer screen. "Greg Bryson," he read. Seth and what appeared to be an older version of him (apparently Greg) had one arm around each other, arms raised in mid-wave. Both men's hazel eyes were filled with a happy expression, light brown hair—Greg's streaked with grey— glinting in the sunlight.

"Yup," replied Calleigh. "And the best part is Greg Bryson died two weeks ago; his case was handled by night shift. Seth inherited everything. I'll give you two guesses how he died."

Horatio didn't even have to think. "Gunshot between the eyes and random multiple stab wounds."

"Bingo," said the Southern CSI.

"So he killed his father to inherit the sugar refinery and make sure no one was there if and when he brought his victims there," the lieutenant mused.

Calleigh folded her hands together and rested her elbows on the table in front of her. "So what're you going to do? Try to get him?" she inquired.

"That," Horatio put on his shades. "Is exactly what I'm going to do." He walked out of the room and called Mac.

"_Taylor,_" answered the New York CSI.

"Mac, meet me by the Hummer. We've got Bryson's location," Horatio informed him.

"_You going to call in SWAT again_?" asked Mac.

Horatio shook his head even though Mac couldn't see it. "No. I know the SWAT leader well enough to know that he's impatient and has a short temper. He might blow a fuse if Bryson gets away again."

"_So it's just going to be Bryson, you, and me_?" inquired Mac.

"Don't forget the victims," Horatio said. "That's who we're really fighting for."

* * *

**(/end chapter) XD So… tell me about mistakes, typo, etc, please. Oh, and REVIEW. They make me happy. :D**

"**You don't like, you don't read." **


	16. One of Our Own

**SORRY. I really wanted to type this up, but I went to Virginia and has no time. Hopefully this chapter makes up for it. The days before were spent packing, for I pack slow. Also, I am sad to say that this story is almost over. It will probably only be 21 chapters. I have them all planned out. I'M GOING TO MISS THIS. **

**Disclaimer: Too lazy to retype. You all know it anyway.**

**Warning: Might contain some OOC-ness.**

**Oh yeah there's no character death, but there's a character getting shot. You'll see. (; **

**Another thing. CSI: NY fans, you've (hopefully) seen the episode Sleight out of Hand. Well, Seth is the same type of insane as Luke Blade. **

**One other (LAST I PROMISE XD) thing. DAVID COOK WON AMERICAN IDOL. Yeahhh. :D**

* * *

Mac, Horatio and Stella arrived at the refinery. Originally, it was just supposed to be Horatio and Mac at the sugar warehouse. Both men didn't want to see Stella get hurt; they cared about her too much. The female detective protested and so they agreed to let her come.

They got into their positions close to the factory's front door. Of course they were wearing bullet-proof vests to help protect them from injury.

"Is there any way he can escape, like a back door of some sort?" asked Stella.

Horatio shook his head. "I had Sam, our A/V tech, map out the refinery. There's just a front door and Bryson is not likely to escape," he said.

"Bryson's claimed too many lives. I just hope the victims are still alive," added Mac.

Horatio nodded in agreement. "I hope so too, Mac, I hope so too…" he said.

* * *

Seth Bryson heard the familiar sound of tires on dirt. His head was down and he gave a wicked smile.

"Mm! Mm-mm-mm!" Bridgette Raimone tried to say, "Help! We're in here!" but her speech was impaired by the large piece of duct tape that was covering her mouth.

Seth gave a cruel laugh. "What's that, Bridgette? You wanted help? Well that's just too bad. I asked for the same thing in college and no one did a damn thing," he spat.

Lucas tried to move closer to defend his wife, but the ropes around his legs and wrists made movement almost impossible.

Seth ridiculed the bound man by talking in a baby's voice. "What's the matter? Wittle Wucas can't pwotect his wife? I honestly don't care. Besides, one of you will be dead before those coppers come in."

Bridgette let out a muffled moan of terror. The light-brown haired killer turned to her. "Oh, so you want to go first? That can be arranged," he said, fingering his gun.

Bridgette shook her head vehemently while Lucas tried to protest. Seth had an evil glint in his eye.

"You know, in college, I never had a say in the matter. It was always done to me, whether I liked it or not. Well, you've all heard this famous saying: Karma's a bitch," He cocked his gun as he spoke. "Bye bye, Bridgette." The trigger was pulled.

* * *

_Bang!_ A gunshot was heard inside the refinery. Mac, Stella, and Horatio ducked on impulse.

"That was _definitely_ Bryson," Stella said as soon as they got up.

Mac cocked his gun, ready just in case Bryson shot at them. "Then that's our cue," he replied. Horatio nodded in agreement.

"On my count," the redhead instructed. "One… two… three!" On three, he kicked the front door down and the three CSIs barged into the building, guns drawn and ready to fire. What they saw was Seth Bryson holding a smoking gun. At the business end of the gun was the body of Bridgette Raimone. Next to her body was a terrified Lucas Raimone, bound with his mouth duct taped.

Seth turned to meet the three CSIs. "Ah Lieutenant, Detectives," he acknowledged them respectively. "How kind of you to join us on this lovely day."

"Might be lovely for you, but _not_ for the people you've killed," Stella hissed.

The murderer of many people waved a hand in front of his face. "They had what was coming to them," he said, cocking his gun and pointing his gun at Lucas. "And so does he."

"Seth," warned Horatio. "If you shoot him, I will do the same to you."

Seth shrugged. "Okay." He then pointed his already-cocked gun towards Stella.

_Bang! _The trigger was pulled. The female detective had a bullet-proof vest, but the vest only protected what it covered.

"Agh!" Stella cried out in pain as the bullet tore through her leg. She fell to the floor and clutched the injured leg.

There was another _bang!_ as Seth Bryson was shot in the arm by Mac Taylor. Horatio immediately checked Stella while Mac walked to Seth to cuff him, regardless of the injured arm.

"Oh yeah," the NYPD detective said as he cuffed Seth. "You're being arrested for the shooting of an officer, kidnapping, attempted murder, and murder. However, in your case, I should have said _murders_."

Meanwhile, Horatio pulled out his phone, pressed a button and yelled, "Shots fired, Grove and 38th. Requesting paramedics and a squad car. Officer down, repeat, officer down!" He hastily put his phone in his pocket and continued to watch Stella, who was breathing heavier than before and still clutching her injured leg.

The sirens of the squad car and the ambulance were drawing closer to the abandoned refinery. Mac untied Lucas and took the duct tape off of his mouth.

"Thank you very much, officer…" he said and then rambled on.

Mac nodded in acknowledgement of Lucas's thanks. "Sit tight, Lucas." He then proceeded to watch Seth wiggle around on the floor, sometimes wincing at the pain of the gunshot wound.

The cuffed man looked up at Mac. "Hey, cop, you got to cut me some slack here. I mean, I just got _shot_."

"Yeah? Well, _five people_-- one of which is your own father-- have gotten shot and died. No one cut them any slack," countered Mac. Seth mumbled something incoherently and continued wiggling around on the floor.

The ambulance and the squad car were right outside the refinery. Horatio looked at Stella. "Come on, Stel," he whispered. "Don't leave us now."

* * *

**Okay, okay. Yell at me if you must, throw pies at me if you must, shoot me if you must. I shot Stella. I'm sorry. So, yeah, check for mistakes/typos please, and REVIEW. Happy-making reviews make…ing. **

"**You don't like, you don't read." **


	17. You're Going to be Okay

**Disclaimer: You know. **

**So… this chapter is going to be angsty. And the next two will contain a bit of OOC-ness, but it's because they're supposed to be humor chapters. Alexx has a big part in this. Yay! I'm DEFINITELY still in denial about her departure. **

**Also… I'm not a doctor, so I honestly don't know if there is a major artery in your leg. **

**Warning: May contain OOC-ness (I'll never give up on writing this here)**

* * *

The ambulance zipped through the streets of Miami as they rushed to get Stella to the emergency room. She was not breathing at a normal rate and occasionally cried out in pain due to the .38 caliber bullet that was lodged in her leg.

"I-I'm no—" the female detective tried to say something but couldn't get it out.

"Don't try to speak. Don't worry, I'm right here," Horatio told her. He was true to his word; he _was _always there throughout the trip through Miami and the rush through the ER. Granted, he wasn't allowed in the operating room, but when she was moved to a room in the PACU, Horatio was right there next to her.

Soon, Mac and Alexx came to see Stella in the hospital. Horatio saw the New York detective and the ME standing outside the room. The lieutenant walked to where they were standing in the hallway.

Mac looked at Stella while talking to Horatio. "How's she doing?" he asked. Horatio diverted his gaze from the shades in his hands to Stella's sleeping form. She was breathing normally and was sound asleep.

"She's holding up," replied the redhead. Mac then went into Stella's hospital room and sat by her bedside.

Alexx began to rub Horatio's back in a motherly way. "What about you? How're you holding up?"

His ocean-blue eyes met her warm chocolate brown ones. There was grief in those eyes. Alexx was momentarily stunned by the expression she saw for there was usually determination (to catch the killer) in those eyes.

She looked at him the way she would look at her kids when they were feeling down. She sympathized with him and spoke in a maternal tone of voice. "You need some rest, Horatio; you've been here for almost five hours."

"I don't need rest," said Horatio, gaze returning to his shades.

"Look, I know you care about her a lot, but she's going to be okay. Before Detective Taylor and I walked up here, we spoke to some people. Detective Bonasera is expected to make a full recovery," said Alexx.

The distraught lieutenant looked into the room where Mac was saying something inaudible to Stella. She couldn't hear it, but he continued on. "But what if she doesn't?" he asked softly.

Alexx took her hand off his back, set it on his shoulder, and gave him a firm gaze. "Don't say don't and never say never."

Horatio cracked a small smile. "You tell that to your kids, don't you?"

Horatio was so distraught before that seeing him smile made the ME smile. "I do," she said firmly. "And now I'm telling it to you. She _will_ be okay, Horatio."

Horatio nodded, small smile still on his face. "Okay," he said.

Alexx patted him on the shoulder. "That's my boy," she teased the redhead as if he was her own child.

Horatio chuckled. He took in every word that Alexx said and stored them in his mind. He _did_ believe her; Stella _was_ going to be okay.

The two colleagues chatted for a little bit longer. They spoke about Stella's well-being and about other things going on in the crime lab and in autopsy. Horatio also asked on impulse how Alexx's family was doing.

"My husband's fine, but my kids? Fighting more than ever. I think Henry might lose his voice by the end of the week," Alexx said, smiling. Kids. Typical kids.

Horatio laughed. It was the first real laugh he had since Stella got shot.

Just then, Mac stepped out of the room. He saw Alexx and Horatio standing there, both with a smile on their face.

The Chicago native looked from Horatio to Alexx and back to Horatio. "Did I miss something?" he asked quizzically.

Alexx chuckled. "Not much, Detective. Just a little family talk and an agreement from Horatio that he would _finally _get some rest," she replied.

Mac raised and eyebrow. "Okay," he said disbelievingly, but let the matter go. He and Alexx then proceeded to walk toward the elevator. Before Horatio followed, she took one last look at Stella sleeping peacefully in her hospital bed.

He smiled to himself. _'You're going to be okay, Stella, you're going to be okay.'_

* * *

**Okay, I know Horatio never said 'don't' or 'never', but doesn't is close enough! So, yeah, just asking for the usual. R&R and check for typos, etc. You'll make me happy! :)**

"**You don't like it, you don't read it."**


	18. Miami's Coffee Chat

**You know: Disclaimer. :)**

**WARNING: **_**Definite**_** OOC-ness in this chapter. It's a filler chapter. The next one will also be a filler chapter. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.**

**WARNING DEUX: Also, the what's-supposed-to-be-humor may be **_**BAD**_**. I wrote these chapters one after the other, and I was half asleep writing both. You want to see my real humor skills? Check out the parody I'm going to post sometime in the near future. ****Vous aurez été prévenu! Deux fois! (YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! Twice!)**

**And yes, there is a CaRWash moment in this.**

* * *

The Bryson case was finally over. Calleigh leaned back a bit more in her chair in the break room. This was a tough case—causing stress in some parts of the lab—but at last they could relax.

Eric chuckled when he saw the relaxed look on the female CSI's face. "Already thinking about sleeping, Cal?" he teased. Eric and Natalia were sitting next to each other on the couch while Ryan was by the coffee machine getting some of the café cubano that their Cuban-Russian colleague had made for them.

"Well the case is over, so I can sleep as much as my little heart desires," Calleigh shot back playfully.

"I'd be surprised if she wasn't thinking about sleeping," Natalia said, leaning against Eric. "This case has worn us all out."

"Especially Ryan. His OCD must've gone out the window when he saw Victoria Chavez's boyfriend's bloodstained shoes." He was referring to when Josh Harding accidentally stepped in his dead girlfriend's blood pool before calling in the murder.

Ryan took the chair next to Calleigh and put on a look of mock humor. "Ha, funny," the younger CSI said sarcastically.

"Just kidding, Wolfe," Eric said, taking a sip of his coffee.

"I do wonder how Stella's doing," mused Calleigh.

Natalia pushed a stray strand of brown hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ear. "Oh yeah, I heard about that. Horatio just came back from the hospital. Didn't the bullet miss something major?"

Eric nodded. "Yeah, he told be that the bullet barely missed a major artery in her leg."

Ryan raised an eyebrow. "Really?" he asked.

"Yeah," confirmed the elder CSI. "If she had been shot a little more to the right, her legs would have been paralyzed for life."

Calleigh shook her blonde head. "That poor woman. I hope she recovers soon."

"Well, I did hear that she was expected to make a full recovery," Natalia said. Calleigh laughed.

The CSI trainee gave her a quizzical look. "Did I say something?"

"It's just that the two sentences before that started with "I heard that" or "I did hear that". Where do you hear everything?" Calleigh asked, smiling.

Natalia pretended to be offended. "Calleigh Duquesne, after all the years we've worked together, you still haven't noticed the two things sticking out of my head? They're called 'ears'." Ryan and Eric laughed.

The blonde followed suit and pretended to be sorry. "I'm sorry Natalia; I should have never doubted you."

"It's okay Calleigh," Natalia reassured her. "Besides, I heard it all from Alexx," she added with a grin.

Ryan's eyes went wide. "You're admitting that you don't have ears?!" he said. Then his expression turned to one of confusion as he realized what he said. "Wait, that did _not_ come out right."

Eric snickered. "You think?" The four colleagues talked for about two or three more hours. Then Natalia stretched her arms and yawned.

"I'm getting tired," she said, standing up. She ran her fingers through her brown hair and looked at the cup of café cubano she had set down on the table.

"Normally, café cubano can keep people awake for hours," Eric said. "Yet, it has been proven that even that can't keep Natalia Boa Vista awake."

The DNA specialist glared at the underwater recovery expert. "Shut up."

Eric chuckled. "Come on, I'll give you a lift home," he said. The pair waved goodbye to their friends and walked out of the break room.

Calleigh stood up as well. "I might as well get going." She waved goodbye to Ryan and headed for the door. Just before she reached the handle, Ryan called her name.

"Hey Cal, wait up," the former patrol officer called.

The firearms expert turned to face him. "Yeah?" she asked.

He shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "I was wondering if you wanted to grab some lunch with me tomorrow," he ventured. "That new Olive Garden in the Grove just opened up yesterday."

Calleigh was momentarily stunned by Ryan's offer, but she quickly regained her composure. This wasn't an automatic decision; she had to think about it. He was a great friend, but was that all Ryan was destined to be?

Ryan waved his hand in front of Calleigh's face. "Um Calleigh? You're staring at the inside of the garbage can."

Calleigh jolted back to reality. She had made her decision. "Sure," she finally said. "Pick me up at one?"

The brunette nodded. Calleigh smiled at him before opening the door and leaving.

Ryan's first instinct was also to leave. However, his OCD prompted him to clean up the mess his colleagues left on the table. He was grinning as he picked up each coffee cup.

* * *

**Go ahead. Explain the fact that is was bad. As long as it's in a review. :)**

"**You don't like, you don't read."**


	19. New York's Phone Conversation

**No own: Disclaimer. :) **

**WARNING: **_**Definite**_** OOC-ness in this chapter. It's **_**another**_** filler chapter. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. AGAIN.**

**WARNING DEUX: Also, the what's-supposed-to-be-humor may be **_**BAD**_**. So bad it counts as stupid-ness. I wrote this chapter right after the previous, and I was half asleep writing both (my coffee maker broke and I was pissed.) You want to see my real humor skills? Check out the parody I have posted. Vous aurez été prévenu! Deux fois! (YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! Twice!)**

* * *

"She's been WHAT?!" Flack screeched on the other line. Mac held the phone away from his ear. He called his team in New York and they now had him on loudspeaker.

"Whoa Flack," Danny said, rough New York accent entering the conversation. "Calm down a bit." A disgruntled sigh came from Flack.

"Danny, just let him vent. He's just frustrated about what happened to Stella," Lindsay's soft voice said.

"So how's she doing, Mac?" Hawkes asked, concern evident in his voice.

Mac sighed. "Stella's doing well. She's supposed to get discharged from the hospital tomorrow. I have to say, she was lucky to get shot where she was shot though."

"Okay, and I was lucky to almost get killed by a bomb," Flack said sarcastically.

Mac chuckled. "That's not what I meant," the Chicago native said. "If she had been shot a little more to the right, the bullet would have hit a major artery. Her legs would have been paralyzed for life."

"Wow," Lindsay said. "That was a real stroke of luck, wasn't it?"

"Yeah," Mac agreed. "It really was."

"But what about Bryson? Where is the guy now?" Danny asked.

"He's locked up, just as he should be," the ex-Marine replied.

Danny let out a sigh of relief. "See, Montana? I told you Mac would take care of it," he teased. Hawkes laughed and Lindsay—though Mac couldn't see it—rolled her eyes.

"What's all the commotion about?" a new voice asked. It was the voice of one of their lab techs, Adam Ross.

"I think they're talking to Mac in Miami," said Sid, noticing the phone on the table. Apparently, he came into the room at the same time as Adam.

"Wow Sid, I'm impressed," Flack said. "You could've become a CSI after all." The room erupted with laughter.

"So Mac, how'd the case go?" Sid asked after the laughter died down.

"It was difficult, but it went well," Mac replied. "We got the killer—who turned out to be Seth Bryson—and put him behind bars."

"I heard about that case. Wasn't it the one where each victim had a single gunshot to the head and the post-mortem stab wounds?"

Lindsay nodded. "Yeah, that's the one."

"I remember now, I helped Stella analyze the pictures from the camera you got off the Calmado girl," Adam said. "How is Stella, by the way?"

"Well…" Mac hesitated for a moment. "She's been shot by Bryson," he finished.

"WHAT?!" the lab technician and the ME yelled simultaneously.

"She's recovering rapidly though," Mac added, reassuring them that she was okay.

"Where was she shot?" asked Adam.

"In the leg, a couple of millimeters from a major artery. If she was shot a couple of millimeters to the right, her legs would have been paralyzed for life," Mac explained.

Sid shook his head ruefully. "She's a really strong woman. I hope she recovers soon."

"She's getting discharged tomorrow and we fly home in two days. You can bombard her with questions then,' Mac said.

"Oh please Detective Taylor, can I?" Flack asked, tone of voice like a little kid begging for ice cream. The room erupted with laughter once more.

"And while we're on the topic of well-being," Hawkes cut in, smirking. "Why hasn't anyone asked about Danny's well-being? I know for a fact that he bruised his head walking into the door leading out of Mac's office."

Danny glared at him and Mac raised an eyebrow. "What were you doing in my office exactly?" he asked curiously.

The New Yorker's weight shifted from one foot to the other. "Well… uh… you see…" he stammered. "Hawkesdaredmetoputawhoopiecushiononyourseatforwhenyoucomeback," he finished quickly. "Suck up," he muttered to Hawkes.

Lindsay looked from the smirking Hawkes to Danny. "I can't believe you guys would actually do something like that," she said, the tiniest hint of a smile forming on her face. "But no one falls for the whoopee cushion trick anymore."

The former ME snickered. "I know that. I told him I'd give him twenty dollars if he did. I wonder if he only did it for the money."

Danny glared back at him defiantly. "I did not!" he shot back. "I did it because I never back down from a dare," the CSI finished matter-of-factly.

"Oh yeah?" Adam cut in. "What if somebody dared you to jump off of the Empire State Building?"

"With or without a bungee cord?" Danny asked. He secretly hoped Adam said 'with'.

Adam smirked. "Without," the Phoenix native replied.

Danny hesitated. "Well, you see, there were exceptions to that 'never', like doing stuff that would kill me…" he rambled.

Sid decided to join the fun. "Now kids, stop your squabbling or you'll get a time out. Besides, don't you want to talk to Uncle Mac? He hasn't heard from you in the longest." he pretended to reprimand the team like a father would. Once again, the room broke out in laughter. It was just contagious.

The colleagues talked for a long time. Mac laughed at all of the stuff his team told him. "Stella needs to hear all of this. Now I'm really starting to wonder if my lab's still in one piece."

Adam's eyes darted to the floor. "Well there was that one thing…" he started guiltily.

"Adam," Mac said, a tone of warning in his voice.

He laughed. "Just kidding, Mac."

Lindsay yawned. "What time is it now?" The former Bozeman CSI looked at the clock on the wall. "We've been talking for that long? Wow, I can't imagine what this is doing to the Miami PD's phone bill, not to mention ours."

Mac chuckled. I don't even want to think about it. I'll see you guys soon."

Danny motioned for a group to pay attention. "Everybody say 'Bye Uncle Mac!' "

"Bye Uncle Mac!" the group yelled all together. Mac ended the call and chuckled.

As he was walking out of the Miami-Dade Crime Lab, he couldn't help but smile. Sometimes his team had that effect on him.

* * *

**Well… that was awkward. R&R…**

"**(notevengoingtobother)" **


	20. Leaving the Hospital

**Disclaimer: You already know.**

**SURPRISE! Since I'm leaving on the tenth and staying in the Philippines for three weeks, I decided to give you a going-away present****—another post! **

**And… -tear- this is the last chapter. But don't worry, I can't leave without an epilogue. Which I'll work on in the Philippines and then post here. Whenever I get back.**

**A/N (Aly's Note): This chapter is a bit more angsty than the others because I included something about Marisol's death.**

* * *

The day had come. Stella was being discharged from the hospital. Mac and Horatio were waiting for her in the lobby.

_Ding._ The doors of the elevator opened. Out came Stella in a wheelchair. She was being pushed by a middle-aged Asian nurse whose dark hair was pulled back in a low ponytail.

The female detective smiled when she saw the two male CSIs sitting and conversing. She motioned for the nurse to lower her head and whispered something to her.

"Are you sure Detective Bonasera?" the nurse asked.

Stella nodded firmly. "Positive," she said, getting out of the wheelchair. "Thanks Annette."

Annette gave a small wave. "Take care now." She then took the wheelchair and walked around the corner.

Mac was the first one to notice Stella. He smiled when he saw her walking toward them. At first, Horatio didn't understand why the New York detective was smiling. He then followed Mac's gaze and smiled as well.

Stella stopped when she reached them. She waved even though they were sitting right in front of her.

"Hey," she greeted cheerfully. "You guys ready to go?"

Mac chuckled. "Someone sounds happy to leave the hospital," he pointed out.

"Okay, fine," Stella said in a joking manner. "I'll be sad about the fact that I'm getting discharged from the hospital."

Mac smiled and pulled her into a hug. "Good to have you back, Stell."

She smiled. "Glad to be back, Mac."

After the two New Yorkers pulled away from their embrace, Mac told them that he was going to go to the hospital's coffee shop to get some coffee for everyone. He left Horatio and Stella standing there, an awkward silence emitting from the two of them.

Horatio was the first to break the uncomfortable silence. "How're you going?" the lieutenant asked with concern in his voice.

Stella shrugged. "A mixture of feeling, I guess. Relieved that I'm getting out of the hospital, anxious to see my friends in New York, yet I'm sad to leave," she said.

Horatio raised an eyebrow. "How's that?"

The Greek detective sighed. "I can't say that I was treated badly, Horatio. Aside from this incident, the majority of the time that I spent here was good. Your team is very friendly and they gave Mac and me a warm welcome. It was also nice to get away from the cold weather we've been having in New York. How could I say that I didn't like it here?"

"That's true. The weather's always nice here," Horatio said in an attempt to lighten the mood.

Another awkward silence emerged. This time, instead of Horatio breaking it, Stella was the one to break the uncomfortable atmosphere. "I just hope that Lucas Raimone is okay," the curly-haired woman said.

"Why do you say that?" asked the Miami lieutenant, confused as to why they were discussing this topic.

Stella gave him a sad smile. "The man lost his wife, Horatio. I can't even imagine what that must feel like, losing the one you wanted to spend the rest of your life with. Can you?"

Horatio tore his gaze away from the ever-present shades in his hands to look at Stella, a sad expression in his eyes. The melancholy memories flooded into his head, some bringing back the hurt and pain he'd felt before. "Actually, I can."

Stella's eyes locked with his, trying to decode the sadness that was lurking in those ocean-blue pools. Her expression changed to one of confusion. "What do you mean, Horatio?" she asked gently. "Has it happened to you before?"

He nodded his head. _Yes._ She was shocked. Never would she have thought that something like this would have happened to him.

Stella patted him on the shoulder. "What happened?" she asked softly, definite traces of concern in her voice. "You can tell me if you want to."

Horatio emitted a small sigh. "Marisol was Eric's sister. Eric told me that she had leukemia. She was caught buying marijuana to alleviate the pain, but I helped her through it. No charges were filed. I guess after that, we started to grow closer. She asked me out for dinner and I accepted. I loved her."

Stella was sort of startled. She had never seen this side of Horatio before. Normally he was strong and determined. Now, he seemed vulnerable as he told her his story. "And then?" she asked, tone of voice still soft.

The redhead fingered his shades. "And then a judge married us. Eric was the witness to our marriage. It was only a quiet little affair, but that was the happiest day of my life. I could just remember Marisol's eyes beaming as we said the 'I Dos'." We spent a few days as a married couple. And then… she was shot. The hospital tried to save her, but they couldn't. She was gone. Just like that.

Stella hugged the lieutenant. She couldn't imagine the hurt that must have been flowing through his veins at that time. "I'm sorry," she said somberly. "For that and for if I brought up any bad memories."

"It's okay," Horatio said. "You didn't know."

Just then, Mac walked up to them with a cup holder containing three cups of coffee. "Sorry for the wait, the line was long." He then noticed the somber embrace shared by the two friends and frowned. "What happened?"

The two pulled away from their embrace. "We were on the topic of Lucas Raimone's well-being, when Horatio told me the same thing happened to his wife. She was shot just like Bridgette Raimone."

Mac's expression softened. "I'm sorry," the Chicago native said/ "I know how it feels to lose a wife. I lost Claire in 9/11."

Now it was Horatio's turn to sympathize. "I'm sorry," the lieutenant said. There was silence emitting from the three CSIs for a while. Mac was still holding the coffees, steam rising out of the covers.

After a while , Stella decided to change the mood from an uncomfortable air to a friendly atmosphere. "I just remembered that I'm leaving tomorrow," she said.

Horatio smiled. "Yes, you are," he said.

"So it would be a good idea if I go back to the crime lab to say goodbye to everyone, right? I just can't leave without saying goodbye. It's just not right," she continued, eyes sparkling in an attempt to lighten the mood.

Mac and Horatio chuckled. They caught on to the fact that she was changing the mood. "That _is_ a good idea," Mac noted, smiling.

Stella smiled as well and walked out of Miami General Hospital with the two men on either side of her. Yes indeed, it was a good idea.

* * *

**That was weird. I thought this chapter was longer. Oh well, R&R please! Epilogue is coming… eventually… but it will come… :D**

"**(Idon'tthinkIneedtowritethisanymore)"**


	21. Epilogue

**Disclaimer: is something you should know. **

**I am so sad. This is the epilogue of this story. I'd like to thank **lily moonlight, mickeygirl101, legolasfreak2, ImaSupernaturalCSI, Rin Takeru, Shining Zephyr, loveintrainwrecks, KickassScot, Cross-Eyed.Under.Your.Drug, littledawn12, BlkRse, and SU2freako **for reviewing; and **Cross-Eyed.Under.Your.Drug, loveintrainwrecks, Way Walker, and SU2freako **for favorite-ing; and **BlkRse, Calleigh-star, Cross-Eyed.Under.Your.Drug, Flynn, ImaSupernaturalCSI, KickassScot, Lost in New York, SU2freako, Shining Zephyr, brightandshiney, lily moonlight, littledawn12, loveintrainwrecks, mickeygirl101, and nettesmaedel89 **for alert-ing! Thanks to all!**

**A/N (Don't you already know what this stands for? XD): I hope you enjoy the epilogue. I tried my hardest to write a good one on the plane. While watching CSI: (each series) and House episodes. ;) And also, I don't really know Stella's eye color, but from most pictures I've seen it looks like a greyish-green. **

**And now (for the final time –tear-), presenting 'From New York to Miami'.**

* * *

It was a day after Stella was discharged from the hospital. The New York CSIs were going home.

Horatio, Mac, and Stella were gathered by the door of the Miami-Dade Crime Lab. Busy workers walked in to the cold air-conditioned atmosphere of the building and out to the hot air of Miami. The three were standing inside, not really paying any mind to the other people around them.

The redhead acknowledged his colleague and shook his hand. "Mac," he said.

"Horatio," Mac also acknowledged his colleague. They gave each other a friendly smile.

"Nice working with you," Mac continued.

"Same here," Horatio replied. Mac gave a final nod and walked to the taxi waiting outside. Like the day before, Horatio and Stella were left together.

The female detective smiled. "Nice working with you too," she said.

Horatio pulled her into a hug. "Right back at you," he said. They stayed in that embrace for a moment and then pulled away.

Then Stella did something that neither Horatio nor she expected she would do. She kissed him on the cheek then pulled away quickly. Both—although not showing it in their facial expressions—were stunned for the moment. Then the two smiled at each other, blue eyes meeting grey-green. Stella waved one last time and then joined Mac in the taxi.

The lieutenant walked outside and watched the taxi speed off into the distance. He smiled and put on his shades, walking into the bright Miami sunshine.

* * *

Two hours later, Stella and Mac arrived at New York's JFK airport and walked out into the chilly winter air. Flack stood outside and smiled when he saw his colleagues.

"Welcome back. Nice tans, by the way," the tall detective said, smirking. Stella rolled her eyes and smiled. It was good to be back.

All three New Yorkers got into the car, Flack in the driver's seat, Mac riding shotgun, and Stella in the back.

"How's your leg, Stel?" Flack asked as they got on the Midtown Tunnel leading to midtown Manhattan.

"Better, much better. It actually doesn't hurt a lot anymore; I'll be back to work by tomorrow," she replied, tucking a stray strand of curly brown hair behind her ear.

"Good to hear that,' Flack said, smiling genuinely. He then asked Mac about how the case went in Miami.

"It went good. We arrived to a scene in which the same MO had been used on the body. Then we went back to their lab," Mac continued on.

Stella put both men's voices out of her mind for a moment. Leaning against the headrest, she thought about the impulsive thing she had done in Miami. She'd kissed Horatio Caine. Granted, it was only on the cheek, but there was something about it, something about that moment that made her feel… something. She felt something, but she couldn't describe it.

Stella sighed and looked out the window. Cars and taxis whizzed by as jaywalking pedestrians tried hard not to get hit. Horns honked and people cursed. That was the norm in New York City.

Looking out at the familiarity of it all, Stella knew she was back home. Putting the memory out of her mind, she decided to join Flack and Mac's conversation. After all, she was the only one who felt something…

…right?

* * *

Little did she know, a certain red-haired lieutenant in Miami was pondering the exact same subject. After he grabbed a sandwich and some coffee, Horatio returned to his office to start the paperwork on the Bryson case. He sighed and grabbed a pen.

After signing his name on God-knows-how-many pages, he stopped. Leaning back in his chair, he thought of the moment that Stella and he shared two hours ago. She'd kissed him on the cheek. Sure, it was only on the cheek, but still. Something was there.

Horatio didn't know what to make of this. Stella and he were just colleagues, friends. Friends kissed each other on the cheek. Alexx had kissed him on the cheek for his birthday and it meant nothing. They were just friends.

But when Stella had kissed him, he felt something. He felt a feeling that he couldn't quite explain. It was something… different.

Horatio continued to sign papers, but his mind never left that one small moment that he and Stella had shared just before she left. He smiled as he signed his name for what seemed to be the thousandth time.

After an hour, a knock at the door broke Horatio out of his paper-signing reverie. Horatio looked up to see who it was. Frank was standing there, leaning against the metal doorframe of his office.

"Hey, we've got a dead body in the Gables. I've called Delko, Wolfe, and Alexx; they're going to meet us there," the Texan detective said. Horatio nodded.

"Thank you Frank, I'll be right there," the lieutenant replied. Frank nodded and left.

Horatio put down his pen, grabbed his shades, and put them on. Walking out of the door, he put the moment out of his mind. He would meet his team at the crime scene and they would solve the crime. He'd move on.

* * *

Yes, the two did move on. They solved crimes and put away bad guys, making their respective cities a better place to live. They did their jobs and life went on. After all, life would always go on…

… from New York to Miami.

* * *

**Cheesy right? I tried. Well, it's over! I hope you liked it! Review please, and suggestions (on how to improve my writing and such) are always welcome. **


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